OK. The Halloween Party! It went well. Jake was silly and didn't have a costume. I'd been asking him all week what he was going to wear, and he said he wasn't going to dress up. I told him that it would be so lame if he didn't wear a costume at his own Halloween Party! So, very last minute, he decided to wear his glasses (which he rarely wears) and went as "Jake with glasses." I told him that if he would've put just a little more thought into it, he could've bought a black turtleneck and gone as Steve Jobs. Oh well. :)
I wasn't sure how the decorations would work--because we didn't set them up until like a half hour before--but it looked good. Just used fake black spider webs, some random Halloween stuff I'd bought that week, creepy curtains, etc.
Attendance was good. The Cooks, Hendersons, Shumways, Whitakers, Hunts, Christensens, Randalls, the Burkheads, Derek Thompson (Alicia was home watching their sick kids, she told him to go), Mike, and Jake's co-worker Ben and his pregnant girlfriend Hilary (she's also having a boy in December). Jake and I agreed that next time we should just invite a lot more people... we didn't want to invite a ton of people this time.
We mostly just visited and ate. I think it was nice for Kate to meet a lot of pro-family, pro-children people. :) Elizabeth Christensen had 3 kids in 20 months (she had a set of twins). A lot of the women here have 3 or 4 kids; the Cooks have 5. People were surprised to hear that she's 6 months pregnant and was carrying around a 9 month old baby :) Ben and Hilary came towards the end, too. I think they may have been a little bored at our Mormon party, but that's okay. :) Jake took the guys downstairs to play old video games and his drum set. And then we all played Psychiatrist, which was funny. People were gone by 10:30. It was fun. Lila spent the evening with the Caldwells, and she had a blast too. When she came home, she had fun playing with my Halloween mask. Jake taught her that Halloween is funny, not scary, and to laugh like a witch:
So, that was that. Saturday was busy. Jake spent the morning helping the Hendrix's finish the playhouse they've been building for their daughters. (Brother Hendrix broke his back falling off a ladder this summer; I wonder if it was while he was working on the playhouse.) Jake is their home teacher. A pretty awesome one, if I may so so myself. :) He had 6 or 7 other men there helping. I spent the morning at Holly's baby shower that Jessica Wesel hosted. But, since Jess hadn't planned very well, she scheduled the shower a few days before Holly's due date, and Holly had her baby on Friday morning! So, Holly was at the hospital with her baby, but we Facetimed with them as we were opening presents and got to see the baby. Holly's daughter Ella (we babysit her for date night swap) looks just like Lila, super blond and fair. Holly is also super blond and fair, and her husband is pretty fair too. Well, this little baby (actually the same size as Lila was, 8 1/2 lbs), has a full head of dark brown hair! Crazy! So, Holly woke up early Friday morning (maybe around 4 or 5) having contractions and since she'd been having them every morning that week, didn't know if she should go in. She called her doctor, who told her she should probably come in. They dropped Ella off at the Wesels at 6:30am, and had the baby at 7:17am!!! Yikes!! Maybe we shouldn't plan on going to Mike's wedding if it's on December 17th. I've heard that second babies come a lot faster than the first. Yikes. So, she obviously didn't have any drugs or an epidural.
Lila had fun playing outside during the shower with the Wesels' older kids and the Greens' kids. (Robyn and Christian Green came back to visit for the weekend.) I sat around visiting with them for a while. They wanted to know more about Mike and Cassandra. Robyn said, "So, Mike finally conquered the independent Cassandra." And I said, "It took a lot of work!"
Jake came home at 1 or 1:30, Mike came by for a bit too. We had lunch and then laid down for a bit before Jake went to work on fixing either the generator or the snowblower that he was thinking about buying from our neighbor Justin. Emily came over at dinner and made us chicken and rice. She always makes her food really salty. :) And then we got Lila ready for the trunk-or-treat.
This girl is WAYYYY too cute!! She didn't like it at first (obviously) but she was fine as soon as we got her socks and shoes on. The trunk-or-treat was okay. Lila was still too little to play any of the games, but she sure liked getting candy and carrying around her pink pumpkin bucket. We stopped at Walmart on the way home. When we got home, I finished getting my Primary stuff done and organized. Jake gave Lila a bath with her new toys that we bought her. (She only has like one bath toy, and a cup she plays with, and she likes washcloths. We've felt bad for a long time but always forget to buy them at the store. Jake said, "I feel bad when she gets in the tub and says, 'Dolphin!'")
Mike and Cassandra stopped by for a bit. It was our first time seeing Cassandra since they got engaged. She and her mom went dress shopping but didn't find anything. She'd really like it if her mom and sister could make her dress, but that wouldn't be able to happen in time for a December wedding. I think I heard Mike say to Jake on the phone today that she suggested waiting till January so that they could make her dress, but of course Mike doesn't like that. (I do!! I'd have my baby by then! :) Jake and Mike played with Lila --
Funny. Lila was up till 11 or later again. ARGGH. The girl isn't feeling well right now and we're not quite sure what it is. I figure it has to be teeth. She puts her hands over her ears a lot, is grinding and clicking her teeth, doesn't have a regular appetite, is very clingy to me. After she went to bed I cried for a while because I'm really tired. I've been more irritable with Jake than usual lately. He's told me a few times that I'm acting weird, and I am. But I feel like Jake's been pretty insensitive about my pregnancy (of course, I'm more sensitive than normal, so I don't know... maybe he's just acting like he always does). I said the other night that I wish I could lay on him like I do when I'm not pregnant, and we cuddle that way. He said, "You would crush me! And the baby!" Thanks, Jake. And when I tell him about my worries about having another baby and how hard it will be balancing the needs of Jared and Lila and running on little sleep, he just says, "It'll be fine." That's what he almost always says whenever I tell him I'm worried or nervous about something. Annoying. So we talked about how he needs to be more understanding when I tell him about my worries. He's a good husband and dad, and things like that don't usually bother me because I'm used to it... I just think the hormones are getting to me. And I think I'm probably a little on edge because he's leaving on Tuesday for four days.
We were like 15 minutes late for church today. Woops. We were all pretty tired this morning. But Lila did well during sacrament meeting. She is the cutest thing. Really. I think she's going to be a musician. She says, "I want songie" at church because she likes when we sing hymns. She'll sit so reverently, holding a hymn book, and "sing" along. In her Eloise children's book, there's a page that has some sheet music printed on it, and that's her favorite page. And she loves pianos. After church we sat in the Primary room for a bit playing the piano with her, and she loved it when we played "A Child's Prayer" and she calls it "Heavenly Fa-der" and likes when we sing. Jake wants to buy a keyboard soon, for Christmas.
Primary went really well. Our new presidency is amazing. The most exciting thing that happened: a Valiant girl threw up right at the end. Yikes.
Took naps after church, had lunch, played with Lila. Jake cooked us dinner while Lila and I played with play dough for the first time (I look so big because I'm wearing Jake's shirt):
She's very delicate and gentle. I think she still has some texture issues because she was very hesitant to touch it. You can hear Jake chopping vegetables in the background.
And then Lila "helped" Jake cook (and I freaked out a few times because I thought she was going to touch the griddle):
And now Jake and Lila are home teaching the Randalls. Their appointment started at 7, but I guess I'm not surprised they're still gone. Jake's a pretty chatty home teacher.
Can you tell I love my new iPhone? :) And my daughter?
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Busy Week
So yeah, we now have a Sam's Club membership. If you asked me when we got married, I would've told you that we'd never have one. I feel like such a mom. But with Lila eating so much now (mostly snacking) and with another one on the way, we feel like it makes sense and will save us money. We went in planning on paying for just the $40 basic membership, but ended up paying for the $100 premium membership because they gave us a $25 gift card on the spot, we'll get lots of coupons throughout the year, and discounts at their pharmacy and optical. And, if we're not satisfied with it, we can get our extra $60 back before we renew our membership next year. It was fun shopping around and buying lots of the foods that we love and eat. I think I'll like the place a lot more once I can eat like a normal person again :)
Lila's cute when we go shopping. Trails behind us, stopping every few feet because she's distracted by whatever is in the aisle. She prefers doing that than sitting in the cart now, usually.
The rest of the week was busy getting ready for the Halloween Party. We went grocery shopping with Emily when she was here on Thursday.
Yesterday I spent the morning cooking/baking (and getting short of breath just standing at my kitchen counter making cupcakes--pregnancy!), and Lila was pretty good at entertaining herself and being happy. But after lunch, she had a meltdown, and she wanted to go "in neh" (she'll say "i want to go in neh!" which maybe means "in there," which apparently means downstairs, which she usually pronounces "down dare") and rock in the rocking chair and watch the birdie show. So we did that and then she finally took a nap. Kate and George arrived not long after she woke up to help set up for the party. It was helpful to have her around, and Lila took a liking to her, finally. She said, "Holdy Kake!" a lot, and she liked playing with George... especially when he would laugh at her.
Lila's cute when we go shopping. Trails behind us, stopping every few feet because she's distracted by whatever is in the aisle. She prefers doing that than sitting in the cart now, usually.
The rest of the week was busy getting ready for the Halloween Party. We went grocery shopping with Emily when she was here on Thursday.
Yesterday I spent the morning cooking/baking (and getting short of breath just standing at my kitchen counter making cupcakes--pregnancy!), and Lila was pretty good at entertaining herself and being happy. But after lunch, she had a meltdown, and she wanted to go "in neh" (she'll say "i want to go in neh!" which maybe means "in there," which apparently means downstairs, which she usually pronounces "down dare") and rock in the rocking chair and watch the birdie show. So we did that and then she finally took a nap. Kate and George arrived not long after she woke up to help set up for the party. It was helpful to have her around, and Lila took a liking to her, finally. She said, "Holdy Kake!" a lot, and she liked playing with George... especially when he would laugh at her.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Tonight With Lila
Tonight I had bedtime duty by myself because Jake had his meeting. Since Lila slept in till nearly 10 today, I knew it would be a late night. (She was up crying in pain at 1am last night. Finally got her calmed down and she wanted to watch the Backyardigans, so I let her because I figured/hoped she would fall asleep doing so. Nope. She finally fell asleep again at 2:30.).
After I took a shower and she took a bath, we got our jammies on and went downstairs to play. I watched The Office and she played Daddy's drums. And we had snacks.
And then we sat upstairs together for the best hour of my day. We read scriptures and then she spent a long time gently wiping her face with a baby wipe. She loves being clean. She sweetly hopped back and forth across the couch, from my arms to the other end. She held me tight when the train went by because it was scary. And then she held me for a while just because she liked it. Oh, how I love that little girl. She is so sweet. I feel so blessed to be her mommy and to be her favorite person in the world, for now anyway.
I think she's going to be a wonderful, nurturing older sister. She's so helpful and gentle and follows directions very well for a little one her age. I can tell that she and I are going to be great friends someday. It is one of the greatest joys and privileges of my life to nurture her and our relationship as mother and daughter.
After I took a shower and she took a bath, we got our jammies on and went downstairs to play. I watched The Office and she played Daddy's drums. And we had snacks.
And then we sat upstairs together for the best hour of my day. We read scriptures and then she spent a long time gently wiping her face with a baby wipe. She loves being clean. She sweetly hopped back and forth across the couch, from my arms to the other end. She held me tight when the train went by because it was scary. And then she held me for a while just because she liked it. Oh, how I love that little girl. She is so sweet. I feel so blessed to be her mommy and to be her favorite person in the world, for now anyway.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Diabetes, Pumpkins, Sam's Club
Pretty good week so far. Lila hasn't quite been herself... crankier and clingier than usual, isn't eating very well. I think it was on Monday night, she slept the whole night in her bed... the first time that's happened in over a year! She usually only does 9 hours at night. She's tired when she wakes up, but if she does go back to sleep, it takes like a half hour to an hour for her to fall asleep, so I don't know if it's worth it. Tuesday evening she fell asleep for a little while but today she seemed fine, and we even went to Sam's Club after dinner and she didn't sleep in the car. Anyway.
Monday morning, Lila and I went grocery shopping with Kate and baby George. Pretty random. But fun. I didn't get much. A pumpkin and some carving tools. Some snacks. By the time Lila went down for her nap, Jake got home. We got to spend a little time together before I had to leave for my Gestational Diabetes class.
The class went well. It was an hour and a half. Got our glucose meters and learned how to use them. Learned what our diets should be like. I need to test my glucose levels four times a day (first thing in the morning--my fasting level, and an hour after beginning each meal). And I have to watch my carbs... and basically not eat sweets or drink pop or juice. I get 2 carbs in the morning (but can't have cereal) (and 1 carb is around 15g), 1-2 for my morning, afternoon, and bedtime snacks, and 3 for lunch and dinner. It's not that bad. I'm just bummed that I'll have to miss out on Halloween and Thanksgiving this year, but I can pig out at Christmas.
For FHE went went for a short walk (and took the Caldwell boys) and then we carved our pumpkin. Jake and I took turns carving. Lila wasn't that interested. She does think "Halloween is skee-wee" after all.
Yesterday morning, I had a Primary meeting. Lila did better playing with the other girls and wasn't as clingy to me as the first time we went to the Loso's. I sent her off and she played happily with them, which was great. I have lots to do for my calling. I tried squeezing it in during her nap, but I was only able to get halfway through.
Monday morning, Lila and I went grocery shopping with Kate and baby George. Pretty random. But fun. I didn't get much. A pumpkin and some carving tools. Some snacks. By the time Lila went down for her nap, Jake got home. We got to spend a little time together before I had to leave for my Gestational Diabetes class.
The class went well. It was an hour and a half. Got our glucose meters and learned how to use them. Learned what our diets should be like. I need to test my glucose levels four times a day (first thing in the morning--my fasting level, and an hour after beginning each meal). And I have to watch my carbs... and basically not eat sweets or drink pop or juice. I get 2 carbs in the morning (but can't have cereal) (and 1 carb is around 15g), 1-2 for my morning, afternoon, and bedtime snacks, and 3 for lunch and dinner. It's not that bad. I'm just bummed that I'll have to miss out on Halloween and Thanksgiving this year, but I can pig out at Christmas.
For FHE went went for a short walk (and took the Caldwell boys) and then we carved our pumpkin. Jake and I took turns carving. Lila wasn't that interested. She does think "Halloween is skee-wee" after all.
Yesterday morning, I had a Primary meeting. Lila did better playing with the other girls and wasn't as clingy to me as the first time we went to the Loso's. I sent her off and she played happily with them, which was great. I have lots to do for my calling. I tried squeezing it in during her nap, but I was only able to get halfway through.
Dad Betzold visits, Emily Betzold's birthday
On Friday afternoon, I was going to try to go grocery shopping. I've been handling it on my own up until a few weeks ago, but now the thought of taking Lila to the store and walking around for an hour pushing a cart and then unloading the groceries when I get home sounds absolutely exhausting. I couldn't keep my eyes open after Lila woke up from her nap, so I let her watch cartoons and climb all over me and nurse for like an hour so I could just lay down. And then I got up around 3 and was going to pack up and head to the store, but Jessica called and I talked with her for over an hour instead. :) It was her 25th birthday on Thursday. I think it's adorable that we met when we were 13 and are still good friends. We hadn't talked in quite some time, so it was great catching up and hearing about her adventures in motherhood. She's still very much in that new-mom phase, and it was interesting to see how my perspective on motherhood and parenting has changed in the past year. I'm definitely doing some things differently with Jared. Anyway, by the time we got off the phone, it was past 4.
When Jake got home, we headed to the chapel. Our ward was having an Italian dinner. Four men from the ward served their missions in Italy, so they cooked for the entire ward! The food was delicious and it was a fun time. We sat with the Thompsons, Burnhams, and Tensmeyers. We all had a child in our laps (except for Holly and I, but we're pregnant). Terra Burnham is also having a boy in December. Lila loved the food (Italian is definitely her favorite cuisine). I feel so blessed to have good friends here in Kalamazoo.
When we got home, Jim (Jake's dad) was there. He spent the night. Saturday morning, Lila woke up at 5:30 and it took her a long time to go back to bed. Jake got out of bed for a while. When she did fall asleep, I went out to see what he was doing, and he ran up the basement stairs all pumped up and energetic because he had just worked out, lol. So we had some cereal, watched an episode of the Office, and went back to bed. We had a late breakfast and then Jake and Jim discussed ways they could hook up the generator to the house. While they did that, I drove to the Loso's to pick up some Popsicle sticks for Primary. When I got back, Lila was having a meltdown and she calmed down as soon as she saw Mommy. She sure loves Mommy!! We had a quick lunch and then hit the road for Holland. Lila slept the whole way there.
Emily Betzold turned 6 on Friday. So her party was at the church building on Saturday. It was a cute little party. Lots of pizza, cupcakes, games. I helped Angela paint the little girl's nails. Lila loved being chased around by the older kids. She looked so short compared to all of them. :) She just loves her cousin Emily ("Mem-ah-wee.") She also LOVES Grandpa Jim. She warmed up to him immediately this time, gets so excited when she sees him and jabbers on and on. Except she calls him "Gamma." lol. Doesn't quite pronounce the p. She says, "Gamma holdy." She likes Uncle Jim a lot too. They're all very good with her and love her a lot. Emily had a fun time at the party and was really excited that we came.
After the party we went to Jim and Angela. Angela sure has fixed the place up so nice. They're doing very well. They just bought a Toyota Corolla and also a Rav-4. We watched some TV on Hulu. An episode of Modern Family that Jake and I didn't think was funny and parts of Up All Night, which we do think is funny. Then we went to a Chinese buffet for dinner. The food wasn't very good and I couldn't eat a lot. I took the girls outside to walk around because they got restless. After that, Jake and I left for home (Jim spent the night with Jim and Angela) and Lila slept the whole way again.
We went grocery shopping when we got home at like 7:30 or 8. It was a long trip. Lila was cranky and difficult, wanted to walk around but whine and complained and then wanted to be held. Jake and I split up; he hit up the produce and I got everything else. But it still took a long time. We were tired when we got home. But we were up till 11:30 with Lila, because of her late nap, but I feel like we got pretty decent sleep.
Church was good. We sat in front of an old married couple again (the Peters). Lila was actually pretty good but spent a lot of the time climbing all over me (and pulling my shirt down most of the time), coloring, and snacking. Brig joined us for the last little while. After sacrament meeting was over, Sister Peters told me that I have the patience of Job and Brother Peters told me that Lila is the most beautiful little girl in the whole world, and he even has lots of great-granddaughters to compare her to. lol. It was nice to hear. Primary went SO much more smoothly today! All of the rules and incentives we set in place worked. Sister Loso is awesome. She has a Masters in Education and specializes in teaching children, I think, so she has a ton of great ideas. It wasn't nearly as chaotic and the kids were a lot more reverent. It makes it a lot more enjoyable for me. :) Lila didn't do well in Nursery today, even when Jake sat in there with her. Poor girl. She was pretty tired.
After church, we drove to Battle Creek to pick up some stuff Mike needed to give to Dad, and Lila slept on the way there but woke up as soon as Jake parked the car, which was unfortunate. So her nap was half as long as usual. When we got back to our house, Dad was there. He stayed for a few hours to visit and then left for Illinois again. Emily came by too. She visited her new dating interest, Mark, this weekend. Spent the weekend with his family, said she had a really nice time. He's selling security systems so isn't home very often and will be gone full-time starting in March.
Emily and Jim left, and then Lila was super cranky, so we all tried to lay down for a while. We Skyped with my parents for a bit, had dinner. Lila went down "early" and was asleep at 7:45. We'll see how tonight goes... I'm not very optimistic. Jake left at 8:00 to pick up an iPhone 4 for me from Craigslist. :) It's in Vicksburg, so it's a little drive. I'm excited. I think it'll keep me from going crazy once the baby comes.
When Jake got home, we headed to the chapel. Our ward was having an Italian dinner. Four men from the ward served their missions in Italy, so they cooked for the entire ward! The food was delicious and it was a fun time. We sat with the Thompsons, Burnhams, and Tensmeyers. We all had a child in our laps (except for Holly and I, but we're pregnant). Terra Burnham is also having a boy in December. Lila loved the food (Italian is definitely her favorite cuisine). I feel so blessed to have good friends here in Kalamazoo.
When we got home, Jim (Jake's dad) was there. He spent the night. Saturday morning, Lila woke up at 5:30 and it took her a long time to go back to bed. Jake got out of bed for a while. When she did fall asleep, I went out to see what he was doing, and he ran up the basement stairs all pumped up and energetic because he had just worked out, lol. So we had some cereal, watched an episode of the Office, and went back to bed. We had a late breakfast and then Jake and Jim discussed ways they could hook up the generator to the house. While they did that, I drove to the Loso's to pick up some Popsicle sticks for Primary. When I got back, Lila was having a meltdown and she calmed down as soon as she saw Mommy. She sure loves Mommy!! We had a quick lunch and then hit the road for Holland. Lila slept the whole way there.
Emily Betzold turned 6 on Friday. So her party was at the church building on Saturday. It was a cute little party. Lots of pizza, cupcakes, games. I helped Angela paint the little girl's nails. Lila loved being chased around by the older kids. She looked so short compared to all of them. :) She just loves her cousin Emily ("Mem-ah-wee.") She also LOVES Grandpa Jim. She warmed up to him immediately this time, gets so excited when she sees him and jabbers on and on. Except she calls him "Gamma." lol. Doesn't quite pronounce the p. She says, "Gamma holdy." She likes Uncle Jim a lot too. They're all very good with her and love her a lot. Emily had a fun time at the party and was really excited that we came.
After the party we went to Jim and Angela. Angela sure has fixed the place up so nice. They're doing very well. They just bought a Toyota Corolla and also a Rav-4. We watched some TV on Hulu. An episode of Modern Family that Jake and I didn't think was funny and parts of Up All Night, which we do think is funny. Then we went to a Chinese buffet for dinner. The food wasn't very good and I couldn't eat a lot. I took the girls outside to walk around because they got restless. After that, Jake and I left for home (Jim spent the night with Jim and Angela) and Lila slept the whole way again.
We went grocery shopping when we got home at like 7:30 or 8. It was a long trip. Lila was cranky and difficult, wanted to walk around but whine and complained and then wanted to be held. Jake and I split up; he hit up the produce and I got everything else. But it still took a long time. We were tired when we got home. But we were up till 11:30 with Lila, because of her late nap, but I feel like we got pretty decent sleep.
Church was good. We sat in front of an old married couple again (the Peters). Lila was actually pretty good but spent a lot of the time climbing all over me (and pulling my shirt down most of the time), coloring, and snacking. Brig joined us for the last little while. After sacrament meeting was over, Sister Peters told me that I have the patience of Job and Brother Peters told me that Lila is the most beautiful little girl in the whole world, and he even has lots of great-granddaughters to compare her to. lol. It was nice to hear. Primary went SO much more smoothly today! All of the rules and incentives we set in place worked. Sister Loso is awesome. She has a Masters in Education and specializes in teaching children, I think, so she has a ton of great ideas. It wasn't nearly as chaotic and the kids were a lot more reverent. It makes it a lot more enjoyable for me. :) Lila didn't do well in Nursery today, even when Jake sat in there with her. Poor girl. She was pretty tired.
After church, we drove to Battle Creek to pick up some stuff Mike needed to give to Dad, and Lila slept on the way there but woke up as soon as Jake parked the car, which was unfortunate. So her nap was half as long as usual. When we got back to our house, Dad was there. He stayed for a few hours to visit and then left for Illinois again. Emily came by too. She visited her new dating interest, Mark, this weekend. Spent the weekend with his family, said she had a really nice time. He's selling security systems so isn't home very often and will be gone full-time starting in March.
Emily and Jim left, and then Lila was super cranky, so we all tried to lay down for a while. We Skyped with my parents for a bit, had dinner. Lila went down "early" and was asleep at 7:45. We'll see how tonight goes... I'm not very optimistic. Jake left at 8:00 to pick up an iPhone 4 for me from Craigslist. :) It's in Vicksburg, so it's a little drive. I'm excited. I think it'll keep me from going crazy once the baby comes.
Friday, October 21, 2011
FRIDAY! FRIDAY! FRIDAY! (30w 1d)
I've taught Lila to cheer "Friday! Friday! Friday!" because I love Fridays so much. The last day of what always feels like a very long week. We love Fridays around here.
Yesterday was pretty good. We had a 2 hour long Primary meeting at Marianne Loso's cute house. Lila got to play with Tessa, Sophia, and Isabelle. She rarely ever gets to play with other girls, so I was happy about that. :) She did pretty well, though she had a tough time after 11:00, being hungry and getting closer to her nap time. She kept bringing me her shoes and my shoes and trying to put them on so that we could leave. The new Primary presidency is great--I think Sister Cammack is exactly what the Primary needs to get back in order.
Emily came over shortly after we got home. Lila took a late-ish nap. I had to wake her up in the morning to get to our 9:30 Primary meeting. Just as she was waking up at 3:15, the power went out. And it stayed out for at least 2 more hours. So we met Jake at Culver's for a quick dinner, because he had his meeting at 6. Emily, Lila, and I ended up being there for TWO hours because--I don't know how this happened--Jake ended up with both sets of keys. I might have put them in his jacket pocket without thinking (I apparently did that this morning at our midwife appointment too!). So we had to wait for Mike to bring them to us. He met with President Witt at 5:30, but the meeting went long, and when he did get to Culver's, he told us about the meeting. His paperwork for the sealing clearance/cancellation is completed now. President Witt just had to write something up and then send it off to Salt Lake. Kalina is pretty crazy. I now have access to her Facebook account (she must have unblocked me or something) and is definitely still together with her boyfriend and definitely not wearing her garments. Crazy.
After that, we headed to Target. We bought Emily Betzold's presents. Lori was (probably half-heartedly) planning on coming down for the weekend, but she called Wednesday night and said she wasn't going to make it. So she asked me to pick out a cute outfit for Emily because she didn't trust Jim to do it well :) Lila pooped at Target, of course... even though it was her 4th poop of the day. That girl.
The power was back on when we got home, thankfully. It's a good thing we have a generator coming! Jake's dad is bringing it this weekend (he'll get here tonight). I can't imagine having the power go out in the winter with two kids at home now. For days. Anyway. Emily left, I gave Lila a bath, and then we snuggled in bed while she watched the Backyardigans and I stressed out about paint colors for the kids' rooms. I hate picking out paint colors!! We'll see. She didn't fall asleep until 11:00 (crazy!) and then Jake and I stayed up past midnight internet surfing. I slept well last night, though.
This morning I had a midwife appointment at 8:45 and Jake was able to come. Lila didn't like it, but it helped to have Jake (and his iPhone) there to distract/comfort her. We talked more with the midwife (Heather) about inductions. We won't get into specifics like scheduling or dates until the beginning of December, but it seems like a definitely possibility. There are a lot of women who want to get induced that week, as you can imagine, but because I have a "medical" reason (diabetes), I would trump other women who want to be induced just because. The only reason I'm considering/wanting to be induced is because of the holidays. If I was having this baby at any other time of the year, I wouldn't care and I'd wait it out until I went into labor... but with all the holidays and the related craziness, I think it might be nice to have it scheduled and to have care for Lila set up ahead of time. I think it'll help me not feel so crazy. I'm measuring 30 weeks, as I should be. The baby is head down. I gained 2 pounds since my last appointment (as I should) and now weigh around 131. If I gain a pound a week like I should this last trimester, I'll only get up to 140, which would be awesome... I was over 150 last time!
Yesterday was pretty good. We had a 2 hour long Primary meeting at Marianne Loso's cute house. Lila got to play with Tessa, Sophia, and Isabelle. She rarely ever gets to play with other girls, so I was happy about that. :) She did pretty well, though she had a tough time after 11:00, being hungry and getting closer to her nap time. She kept bringing me her shoes and my shoes and trying to put them on so that we could leave. The new Primary presidency is great--I think Sister Cammack is exactly what the Primary needs to get back in order.
Emily came over shortly after we got home. Lila took a late-ish nap. I had to wake her up in the morning to get to our 9:30 Primary meeting. Just as she was waking up at 3:15, the power went out. And it stayed out for at least 2 more hours. So we met Jake at Culver's for a quick dinner, because he had his meeting at 6. Emily, Lila, and I ended up being there for TWO hours because--I don't know how this happened--Jake ended up with both sets of keys. I might have put them in his jacket pocket without thinking (I apparently did that this morning at our midwife appointment too!). So we had to wait for Mike to bring them to us. He met with President Witt at 5:30, but the meeting went long, and when he did get to Culver's, he told us about the meeting. His paperwork for the sealing clearance/cancellation is completed now. President Witt just had to write something up and then send it off to Salt Lake. Kalina is pretty crazy. I now have access to her Facebook account (she must have unblocked me or something) and is definitely still together with her boyfriend and definitely not wearing her garments. Crazy.
After that, we headed to Target. We bought Emily Betzold's presents. Lori was (probably half-heartedly) planning on coming down for the weekend, but she called Wednesday night and said she wasn't going to make it. So she asked me to pick out a cute outfit for Emily because she didn't trust Jim to do it well :) Lila pooped at Target, of course... even though it was her 4th poop of the day. That girl.
The power was back on when we got home, thankfully. It's a good thing we have a generator coming! Jake's dad is bringing it this weekend (he'll get here tonight). I can't imagine having the power go out in the winter with two kids at home now. For days. Anyway. Emily left, I gave Lila a bath, and then we snuggled in bed while she watched the Backyardigans and I stressed out about paint colors for the kids' rooms. I hate picking out paint colors!! We'll see. She didn't fall asleep until 11:00 (crazy!) and then Jake and I stayed up past midnight internet surfing. I slept well last night, though.
This morning I had a midwife appointment at 8:45 and Jake was able to come. Lila didn't like it, but it helped to have Jake (and his iPhone) there to distract/comfort her. We talked more with the midwife (Heather) about inductions. We won't get into specifics like scheduling or dates until the beginning of December, but it seems like a definitely possibility. There are a lot of women who want to get induced that week, as you can imagine, but because I have a "medical" reason (diabetes), I would trump other women who want to be induced just because. The only reason I'm considering/wanting to be induced is because of the holidays. If I was having this baby at any other time of the year, I wouldn't care and I'd wait it out until I went into labor... but with all the holidays and the related craziness, I think it might be nice to have it scheduled and to have care for Lila set up ahead of time. I think it'll help me not feel so crazy. I'm measuring 30 weeks, as I should be. The baby is head down. I gained 2 pounds since my last appointment (as I should) and now weigh around 131. If I gain a pound a week like I should this last trimester, I'll only get up to 140, which would be awesome... I was over 150 last time!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
A Full Day
It's been raining for like 24 hours straight. We've had a few low key days so far. It's dark now shortly after Jake gets home from work, so we don't get to go out and play. We've been playing with Lila in the basement. I've been tired after dinner, so I get to lay down for a while and Lila has been pretty good at entertaining herself. Jake's tired too.
Yesterday was a pretty full day for us. We had lunch with Jake at his office, which is something I always love. I think it'll be fun taking our two kiddos to see him. Lila loved it too. Especially playing with his iPad. She climbs and descends the big staircase by herself and doesn't want any help at all. She's just so cute. Immediately after her nap, we brought Terie to the bus/train station downtown--she's visiting her parents up in Traverse City this weekend (the rest of her family will join her on Friday). Desiree met us there and we took baby Jarom home with us; she had class and Tyler was working. I guess they usually have someone else watch Jarom but all of their 5 people were busy. She felt bad asking me and even asked how much she owed me for watching him. I told her that I'm more than happy to help out... until we have our baby and then all bets are off. :) It was fun having two kids for a while, good practice. Jarom was a really good baby. Lila did pretty well too! Let me hold him and rock him uninterrupted for a while (the box of raisins she had kept her very happy). She did get a little jealous and tried to butt in a few times, but overall it went well.
There is so much to do before our Halloween party; it's a week from tomorrow. I'm not really into the whole Halloween thing, but Alicia talked me into this party so now I have to force myself. :) This weekend I need to make a shopping list, get decorations together (Kasey Hunt and Elizabeth Christensen volunteered some of their decorations), figure out what games we're going to play, etc. I'm not going to stress out about it... I think it'll be fun to just get together with friends. My favorite thing about parties is just chatting with other people. That weekend will be packed. I have a baby shower that Saturday morning, am taking Mike and Cassandra's engagement pictures, trunk-or-treat that night. I'm tired just thinking about it. :)
Yesterday was a pretty full day for us. We had lunch with Jake at his office, which is something I always love. I think it'll be fun taking our two kiddos to see him. Lila loved it too. Especially playing with his iPad. She climbs and descends the big staircase by herself and doesn't want any help at all. She's just so cute. Immediately after her nap, we brought Terie to the bus/train station downtown--she's visiting her parents up in Traverse City this weekend (the rest of her family will join her on Friday). Desiree met us there and we took baby Jarom home with us; she had class and Tyler was working. I guess they usually have someone else watch Jarom but all of their 5 people were busy. She felt bad asking me and even asked how much she owed me for watching him. I told her that I'm more than happy to help out... until we have our baby and then all bets are off. :) It was fun having two kids for a while, good practice. Jarom was a really good baby. Lila did pretty well too! Let me hold him and rock him uninterrupted for a while (the box of raisins she had kept her very happy). She did get a little jealous and tried to butt in a few times, but overall it went well.
There is so much to do before our Halloween party; it's a week from tomorrow. I'm not really into the whole Halloween thing, but Alicia talked me into this party so now I have to force myself. :) This weekend I need to make a shopping list, get decorations together (Kasey Hunt and Elizabeth Christensen volunteered some of their decorations), figure out what games we're going to play, etc. I'm not going to stress out about it... I think it'll be fun to just get together with friends. My favorite thing about parties is just chatting with other people. That weekend will be packed. I have a baby shower that Saturday morning, am taking Mike and Cassandra's engagement pictures, trunk-or-treat that night. I'm tired just thinking about it. :)
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Lila @ almost 19 months
I exclaimed, "Holy Cow!" and Lila (who is obsessed with cows), in reply, exclaimed, "Cowie! Moo!"
She still loves lotion. She calls it "she-she." She loves to have it dabbed onto her hands and she'll rub her hands together, and often rub it on her face too. She like to put it on my belly and will often say, "I want she-she on bewwy."
When I have the computer open, she often asks to look at pictures of her cousins, Daddy, Nemmy, and Jared. "Want pitchoo Daddy. Want cousins. Want Jawed."
She calls herself "Yiya." Replaces the L's with Y's. ADORABLE. "That's Yiya's cup."
She really likes music and will often ask for "moo-kick/moo-keet" or for a "shongie." She likes Regina Spektor (upbeat sons like On the Radio and The Calculation and Ingrid, and any kind of dance music). She especially likes this kind of music in the car, and when a song she likes is coming to an end, she whines and twists her hands like she's trying to twist the knob on the radio, because she wants us to play it again. If we're playing one of her favorite songs, she will usually sit very quietly the whole ride without whining or complaining.
She's really gotten into singing songs with us lately. Her very favorite is Book of Mormon Stories still and she knows all the actions. She likes Popcorn Popping, A Child's Prayer, I Love to See the Temple, the ABC's. I taught her Ring Around the Rosie today and she loves that. At the end, instead of falling to the ground, she jumps into my arms and gives me a hug. She says, "I want ashes" when she wants to sing it.
She explains to me that "daddy work." She gets excited when "daddy home."
Peek-a-boo is "peek-a-doo."
When she's hungry she usually asks for a popsicle (pock-ooh-doo). Her favorite snacks right now are popsicles (I'll give her half of a pop ice), string cheese, pickles (she loves pickles! I buy the mini ones. She calls them "pee-koos"), raisins (maisins), Craisins (berries), fruit snacks (she calls them candy), licorice (shee-kish), and Danimals ("monkey moonies"). She also likes Daddy's green smoothies and Ovaltine. She also drinks Juicy Juice but only from the juice box.
Her current favorite show is the Backyardigans. For some reason she calls it the Birdy Show (I love how she says this, "Boo-dee Showie"). She usually watches an episode when she gets up in the morning, while she's having breakfast. She's still not much of a breakfast eater. She'll usually only tolerate a Danimal and a pop tart.
She's getting better at saying her "r's." It is REALLY cute. She can identify the shapes of hearts and stars. She'll say, "Heaaarrrrrrrt. Staaaarrrrr." SO cute.
On walks she'll see a mail box and say, "Mail time." Because of Blue's Clues.
She likes walking with me on walks now instead of sitting in her stroller. She likes finding acorns.
Something she says a lot lately is "Whoa!" Like Joey from Blossom. Whenever we give her something she likes to eat, she'll say, "Whoa!"
When she wants to hold hands (which is very, very rarely), she'll say, "Holdy handy."
People are impressed with how verbal she is. She's saying 4- and 5- word sentences. She has a huge vocabulary and copies almost anything we ask her to say. She acquires language very quickly.
She says, "Trick or treat."
She can kind of count to 10. She says, "Fwee, Four, Five, Sick, Seven, Nine, Fwee!"
She likes when I count to three and then throw her onto pillows. She loves being tickled. She says, "Teekoo Mama! Teekoo Yiya!"
She's wearing 2T clothes and size 5 1/2 shoes. She loves clothes. She giggles and smiles when we pick out clothes and I tell her what she can wear. She likes shirts with butterflies and flowers. "Fuf-fy sheet, flower sheet." She likes talking about mine and Jake's clothes too. She knows her white shoes and her brown shoes, and she loves wearing her Crocs around the house.
She loves jumping on beds and mattresses (we have some laying on the floor in the basement). She loves being chased, when we say, "I'm gonna get you!" ("Getchoo mama!") Before bed she likes to run around in circles and say, "I deezy! I deezy!" (I'm dizzy!) and to "touch-a-wall" and "come on back."
Her sleep schedule right now is better than it has been for a while. She doesn't go down till 9:30 or 10 but she sleep for 5-7 hours, wakes up and nursing for a bit, and then sleeps till 8 or a little before. She takes one nap at around noon and sleeps for 90 minutes to 2 hours.
Something she says a lot is "Kalamazoo jia you!" We don't know why she says the two together, but she always does, and it's really adorable and funny. She can also say California ("califono") and Cassandra (cassanna).
She really likes her friend Brig (Briggy), Quay (Kiki), and Ella (Eya). She likes Tessa too and always says "Want Tessa water." Because they played in the bucket of water that one time.
When we go for walks she likes to walk next to me instead of sit in her stroller. We don't get very far and it takes a long time, but she has a lot of fun.
She thinks a lot of things are "skee-wee." She still hates it when we sing "Rockabye Baby", even though she'll start singing it and ask us to sing it. She's been saying "cock-a-doo-doo-doo" a lot, and whenever we say it back, she crinkles her face and says, "Don't yike it." She also doesn't like it when I wear zip-up sweatshirts and tells me to take it "offy."
She still loves lotion. She calls it "she-she." She loves to have it dabbed onto her hands and she'll rub her hands together, and often rub it on her face too. She like to put it on my belly and will often say, "I want she-she on bewwy."
When I have the computer open, she often asks to look at pictures of her cousins, Daddy, Nemmy, and Jared. "Want pitchoo Daddy. Want cousins. Want Jawed."
She calls herself "Yiya." Replaces the L's with Y's. ADORABLE. "That's Yiya's cup."
She really likes music and will often ask for "moo-kick/moo-keet" or for a "shongie." She likes Regina Spektor (upbeat sons like On the Radio and The Calculation and Ingrid, and any kind of dance music). She especially likes this kind of music in the car, and when a song she likes is coming to an end, she whines and twists her hands like she's trying to twist the knob on the radio, because she wants us to play it again. If we're playing one of her favorite songs, she will usually sit very quietly the whole ride without whining or complaining.
She's really gotten into singing songs with us lately. Her very favorite is Book of Mormon Stories still and she knows all the actions. She likes Popcorn Popping, A Child's Prayer, I Love to See the Temple, the ABC's. I taught her Ring Around the Rosie today and she loves that. At the end, instead of falling to the ground, she jumps into my arms and gives me a hug. She says, "I want ashes" when she wants to sing it.
She explains to me that "daddy work." She gets excited when "daddy home."
Peek-a-boo is "peek-a-doo."
When she's hungry she usually asks for a popsicle (pock-ooh-doo). Her favorite snacks right now are popsicles (I'll give her half of a pop ice), string cheese, pickles (she loves pickles! I buy the mini ones. She calls them "pee-koos"), raisins (maisins), Craisins (berries), fruit snacks (she calls them candy), licorice (shee-kish), and Danimals ("monkey moonies"). She also likes Daddy's green smoothies and Ovaltine. She also drinks Juicy Juice but only from the juice box.
Her current favorite show is the Backyardigans. For some reason she calls it the Birdy Show (I love how she says this, "Boo-dee Showie"). She usually watches an episode when she gets up in the morning, while she's having breakfast. She's still not much of a breakfast eater. She'll usually only tolerate a Danimal and a pop tart.
She's getting better at saying her "r's." It is REALLY cute. She can identify the shapes of hearts and stars. She'll say, "Heaaarrrrrrrt. Staaaarrrrr." SO cute.
On walks she'll see a mail box and say, "Mail time." Because of Blue's Clues.
She likes walking with me on walks now instead of sitting in her stroller. She likes finding acorns.
Something she says a lot lately is "Whoa!" Like Joey from Blossom. Whenever we give her something she likes to eat, she'll say, "Whoa!"
When she wants to hold hands (which is very, very rarely), she'll say, "Holdy handy."
People are impressed with how verbal she is. She's saying 4- and 5- word sentences. She has a huge vocabulary and copies almost anything we ask her to say. She acquires language very quickly.
She says, "Trick or treat."
She can kind of count to 10. She says, "Fwee, Four, Five, Sick, Seven, Nine, Fwee!"
She likes when I count to three and then throw her onto pillows. She loves being tickled. She says, "Teekoo Mama! Teekoo Yiya!"
She's wearing 2T clothes and size 5 1/2 shoes. She loves clothes. She giggles and smiles when we pick out clothes and I tell her what she can wear. She likes shirts with butterflies and flowers. "Fuf-fy sheet, flower sheet." She likes talking about mine and Jake's clothes too. She knows her white shoes and her brown shoes, and she loves wearing her Crocs around the house.
She loves jumping on beds and mattresses (we have some laying on the floor in the basement). She loves being chased, when we say, "I'm gonna get you!" ("Getchoo mama!") Before bed she likes to run around in circles and say, "I deezy! I deezy!" (I'm dizzy!) and to "touch-a-wall" and "come on back."
Her sleep schedule right now is better than it has been for a while. She doesn't go down till 9:30 or 10 but she sleep for 5-7 hours, wakes up and nursing for a bit, and then sleeps till 8 or a little before. She takes one nap at around noon and sleeps for 90 minutes to 2 hours.
Something she says a lot is "Kalamazoo jia you!" We don't know why she says the two together, but she always does, and it's really adorable and funny. She can also say California ("califono") and Cassandra (cassanna).
She really likes her friend Brig (Briggy), Quay (Kiki), and Ella (Eya). She likes Tessa too and always says "Want Tessa water." Because they played in the bucket of water that one time.
When we go for walks she likes to walk next to me instead of sit in her stroller. We don't get very far and it takes a long time, but she has a lot of fun.
She thinks a lot of things are "skee-wee." She still hates it when we sing "Rockabye Baby", even though she'll start singing it and ask us to sing it. She's been saying "cock-a-doo-doo-doo" a lot, and whenever we say it back, she crinkles her face and says, "Don't yike it." She also doesn't like it when I wear zip-up sweatshirts and tells me to take it "offy."
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
The Women of God
"The Women of God"
Neal A. Maxwell
April 1978
You rock a sobbing child without wondering if today’s world is passing you by, because you know you hold tomorrow tightly in your arms.
When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses? When the surf of the centuries has made the great pyramids so much sand, the everlasting family will still be standing, because it is a celestial institution, formed outside telestial time. The women of God know this.
Neal A. Maxwell
April 1978
You rock a sobbing child without wondering if today’s world is passing you by, because you know you hold tomorrow tightly in your arms.
When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses? When the surf of the centuries has made the great pyramids so much sand, the everlasting family will still be standing, because it is a celestial institution, formed outside telestial time. The women of God know this.
No wonder the men of God support and sustain you sisters in your unique roles, for the act of deserting home in order to shape society is like thoughtlessly removing crucial fingers from an imperiled dike in order to teach people to swim.
We are deeply grateful for your enduring us as men when we are not at our best because—like God—you love us not only for what we are, but for what we have the power to become.
Finally, remember: When we return to our real home, it will be with the “mutual approbation” of those who reign in the “royal courts on high.” There we will find beauty such as mortal “eye hath not seen”; we will hear sounds of surpassing music which mortal “ear hath not heard.” Could such a regal homecoming be possible without the anticipatory arrangements of a Heavenly Mother?
Monday, October 17, 2011
Quote
I was recently re-reading Elder Ballard’s talk “The Atonement and the Worth of One Soul.” He said something that has really resonated with me:
“Sadly, in today’s world, a person’s importance is often judged by the size of the audience before which he or she performs. That is how media and sports programs are rated, how corporate prominence is sometimes determined, and often how governmental rank is obtained. That may be why roles such as father, mother, and missionary seldom receive standing ovations. Fathers, mothers, and missionaries “play” before very small audiences. Yet, in the eyes of the Lord, there may be only one size of audience that is of lasting importance—and that is just one, each one, you and me, and each one of the children of God. The irony of the Atonement is that it is infinite and eternal, yet it is applied individually, one person at a time.”
“Sadly, in today’s world, a person’s importance is often judged by the size of the audience before which he or she performs. That is how media and sports programs are rated, how corporate prominence is sometimes determined, and often how governmental rank is obtained. That may be why roles such as father, mother, and missionary seldom receive standing ovations. Fathers, mothers, and missionaries “play” before very small audiences. Yet, in the eyes of the Lord, there may be only one size of audience that is of lasting importance—and that is just one, each one, you and me, and each one of the children of God. The irony of the Atonement is that it is infinite and eternal, yet it is applied individually, one person at a time.”
The Rest of the Weekend
Jake had a lot he wanted to do on Saturday... he replaced the front brakes in the 4Runner and mowed the lawn. Took a long time. He also watched Brody & Toby for a few hours while I was at my baby shower, and the kids had fun playing together. In the evening he moved most of the stuff from what will be Lila's room to the downstairs office.
At 7:00, we had the Thompsons and Randalls over for our first gospel study group. The topic was the Godhead. It was a good discussion. Started out a little weird though because we started talking about the sin against the holy Ghost, and Jake went off on that for a while. :) He likes studying things like that. But, it got back on track and we discussed basic things and how to teach them to our children and why that basic doctrine is important. Our kids all played together which was nice, too. Reid (12) and Mackenzie (5) were helpful with the toddlers. Then we had leftover crepes. Yum. They didn't leave till after 9:30.
Sunday was alright too. Sacrament meeting was pretty entertaining. The first speaker, Steven Siebers (YM President) gave the most entertaining talk on family history/temple work I've ever heard, and one of the most entertaining talks in general that I've heard in a while. Good, too. Jake took Lila out for the first half, so I got to pay attention. Primary went well. Nursery was alright for Lila. She cried after Jake left her there at the beginning of 2nd hour, so I picked her up and we hung out in Nursery for a while, but I brought her back for snack time at the beginning of 3rd hour and she played happily for the next 40 minutes or so. So, a little progress. We missed the last two weeks, too, and there are new nursery leaders (who I really like!) so I think it'll just take a while to get into the swing of things.
Jake took a long nap after church, and then I got cranky so woke him up and got to take a short nap. We took Lila for a long walk. Sat by the trail head for a long time while she played with rocks and climbed onto the bench over and over. Had Ovaltine when we got him. Jake spent a long time talking to Mike on the phone about sealing cancellations and the doctrine behind that. Mike and Cassandra are freaking out a little too much about it. The paperwork should be in this week. Kalina has agreed to write a letter by Tuesday. She sent Mike an email with the link to the song "Someone Like You" by Adele.... what a doozy, that Kalina. We have strong reason to believe that she moved out of the Bishop's mother-in-law's house and into an apartment with Corey (the guy she cheated on Mike with). She told the Bishop it was her brother Caleb (from Escanaba), but the Bishop went to her apartment to talk with her and Corey's car was parked there. Nice.
Anyway. I think I've got Lila on a good schedule, for now anyway. If I wait till 9:30 or 9:45 to put her to bed, she sleeps much better through the night. So even though she was pretty tired before then, I wanted to wait. So we sang songs and did our routine and played with her until then. And then got into bed shortly after that and talked for a while in the dark.
Lila's been up since a little before 8 and she's now napping. We spent the morning doing laundry, I took a shower, playing with toys and puzzles, coloring, having breakfast and lunch (she's not much of a breakfast person), and changing diapers. I also taught her how to do ring around the rosie, and oh my goodness, it was adorable. She is not a hand holder, so to have her little hands in mine as we spin in a circle is so great. :) And she smiles the whole time. And when she falls down at the end, she throws herself into my arms instead of falling on the ground. Love that little girl.
At 7:00, we had the Thompsons and Randalls over for our first gospel study group. The topic was the Godhead. It was a good discussion. Started out a little weird though because we started talking about the sin against the holy Ghost, and Jake went off on that for a while. :) He likes studying things like that. But, it got back on track and we discussed basic things and how to teach them to our children and why that basic doctrine is important. Our kids all played together which was nice, too. Reid (12) and Mackenzie (5) were helpful with the toddlers. Then we had leftover crepes. Yum. They didn't leave till after 9:30.
Sunday was alright too. Sacrament meeting was pretty entertaining. The first speaker, Steven Siebers (YM President) gave the most entertaining talk on family history/temple work I've ever heard, and one of the most entertaining talks in general that I've heard in a while. Good, too. Jake took Lila out for the first half, so I got to pay attention. Primary went well. Nursery was alright for Lila. She cried after Jake left her there at the beginning of 2nd hour, so I picked her up and we hung out in Nursery for a while, but I brought her back for snack time at the beginning of 3rd hour and she played happily for the next 40 minutes or so. So, a little progress. We missed the last two weeks, too, and there are new nursery leaders (who I really like!) so I think it'll just take a while to get into the swing of things.
Jake took a long nap after church, and then I got cranky so woke him up and got to take a short nap. We took Lila for a long walk. Sat by the trail head for a long time while she played with rocks and climbed onto the bench over and over. Had Ovaltine when we got him. Jake spent a long time talking to Mike on the phone about sealing cancellations and the doctrine behind that. Mike and Cassandra are freaking out a little too much about it. The paperwork should be in this week. Kalina has agreed to write a letter by Tuesday. She sent Mike an email with the link to the song "Someone Like You" by Adele.... what a doozy, that Kalina. We have strong reason to believe that she moved out of the Bishop's mother-in-law's house and into an apartment with Corey (the guy she cheated on Mike with). She told the Bishop it was her brother Caleb (from Escanaba), but the Bishop went to her apartment to talk with her and Corey's car was parked there. Nice.
Anyway. I think I've got Lila on a good schedule, for now anyway. If I wait till 9:30 or 9:45 to put her to bed, she sleeps much better through the night. So even though she was pretty tired before then, I wanted to wait. So we sang songs and did our routine and played with her until then. And then got into bed shortly after that and talked for a while in the dark.
Lila's been up since a little before 8 and she's now napping. We spent the morning doing laundry, I took a shower, playing with toys and puzzles, coloring, having breakfast and lunch (she's not much of a breakfast person), and changing diapers. I also taught her how to do ring around the rosie, and oh my goodness, it was adorable. She is not a hand holder, so to have her little hands in mine as we spin in a circle is so great. :) And she smiles the whole time. And when she falls down at the end, she throws herself into my arms instead of falling on the ground. Love that little girl.
29w 4d
I forgot to mention last night in my post how the pregnancy is going. I'm still getting bigger every day it seems like. Our full-length mirror broke a few months ago and I haven't gotten a replacement yet, so I don't really ever see myself until I'm in a public restroom or something, and then I always do a double take because I can't believe how huge I am! I can see all the stretch marks from my last pregnancy, but they're not dark this time, they're faded. I'll probably get new ones though.
I'm feeling pretty good. It's getting harder to move around sometimes, but generally feeling okay. I'm still sleeping well at night--very well, actually--unless my little daughter wakes me up. :) I know that I still have a while to go, though... so I'm preparing myself for a lot more discomfort. Lila is wanting to be held and carried around a lot lately, so that gets pretty tiring, but so far I can still handle it.
This little boy is moving around a lot. Not a ridiculous amount, but still quite a bit. He gives me some pretty strong kicks and jabs, I think stronger than Lila would give me. So that's fun. It's the best part about pregnancy, I think.
Jake asked me the other night if I was running out of room (because it kind of looks like it). Nope. I know that I'm going to get way bigger. This feels pretty manageable.
I'm feeling pretty good. It's getting harder to move around sometimes, but generally feeling okay. I'm still sleeping well at night--very well, actually--unless my little daughter wakes me up. :) I know that I still have a while to go, though... so I'm preparing myself for a lot more discomfort. Lila is wanting to be held and carried around a lot lately, so that gets pretty tiring, but so far I can still handle it.
This little boy is moving around a lot. Not a ridiculous amount, but still quite a bit. He gives me some pretty strong kicks and jabs, I think stronger than Lila would give me. So that's fun. It's the best part about pregnancy, I think.
Jake asked me the other night if I was running out of room (because it kind of looks like it). Nope. I know that I'm going to get way bigger. This feels pretty manageable.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
29w 3d - Baby Shower
Saturday (yesterday) was my baby shower. I woke up feeling very exhausted. Lila had been up crying a few times in the night. Jake got up early with her so that I could sleep in a little. But I just felt awful... and I kept thinking, "Why should I be so excited about having another baby when the one I have causes me so much grief sometimes?" Jake dropped me off at the shower, and on the way there, I cried. First I cried because I felt so awful and tired and wasn't loving being a mom. Then I felt bad for feeling that way. And we were listening to some Ingrid Michaelson music that I guess helped put things in perspective for me... life is hard, sometimes we're exhausted and downtrodden and all that... but it allows our hearts to open up to even more love. I guess lately, too, I've been thinking more about this new baby, my son, and how much I will love him. It's not just going to be more work and juggling and sleep-loss, it's going to mean so much more love in my life and in my heart. I'm going to grow and transform more than I thought I could... just like what happened when Lila was born. My heart will change.
After the shower, Lila went down for a nap and woke up an hour or so later, crying. So I rocked her in her beloved rocking chair (she asks for it now, "I want rock-a-chair") and held her as she slept for probably an hour. I thought about how much of a blessing it was to just be there, holding her. Looking down at her sweet face that's changed a lot over the past year. She's still my baby, my sweet girl. And I need to cherish this time with her before another baby joins us.
I thought about what it will be like when Lila and Jared meet for the first time, how special that will be. I can't believe I'll have two kids. I'm so excited for Lila to have a sibling.
Anyway, my baby shower. It was at 11:00 at Kasey Hunt's. Her and Alicia and Jen Randall threw it for me. A lot of people RSVP'd but a lot of them didn't actually come. A lot of people were sick or ended up not being able to leave them with their husbands (residents' wives). Kasey herself was sick and had to stay in her room the whole time! It was still nice though. Meghan Decker (President Decker's wife), Rollie Wyatt, Annette Shumway, Alicia, Jen, Sarah Cook, and Ann Walls (Pineda--she came late) were there. We had a crepe bar which was really yummy and some cookies that Alicia had made. We got to sit and visit for a while, which is my favorite thing to do. :) I sat there thinking how blessed I am to be surrounded by good women in my life... and how wonderfully blessed we all are to have good, good husbands. Talked about motherhood and babies... how with your first baby, you're in such shock after it's born, so by the second baby that initial shock is at least not as bad. And how your first baby you really have no idea what to do. Rollie asked if it gets easier (her first and only daughter, Autumn, turns one in a few weeks). She is awesome... she and Jonathan waited for 10+ years to get pregnant and finally did through IVF. So she's in her early 30s. Jonathan went out of town a few weekends ago, so she took Autumn camping by herself and set up camp really cute and everything. What a cool mom.
So, that was my baby shower for Jared.
After the shower, Lila went down for a nap and woke up an hour or so later, crying. So I rocked her in her beloved rocking chair (she asks for it now, "I want rock-a-chair") and held her as she slept for probably an hour. I thought about how much of a blessing it was to just be there, holding her. Looking down at her sweet face that's changed a lot over the past year. She's still my baby, my sweet girl. And I need to cherish this time with her before another baby joins us.
I thought about what it will be like when Lila and Jared meet for the first time, how special that will be. I can't believe I'll have two kids. I'm so excited for Lila to have a sibling.
Anyway, my baby shower. It was at 11:00 at Kasey Hunt's. Her and Alicia and Jen Randall threw it for me. A lot of people RSVP'd but a lot of them didn't actually come. A lot of people were sick or ended up not being able to leave them with their husbands (residents' wives). Kasey herself was sick and had to stay in her room the whole time! It was still nice though. Meghan Decker (President Decker's wife), Rollie Wyatt, Annette Shumway, Alicia, Jen, Sarah Cook, and Ann Walls (Pineda--she came late) were there. We had a crepe bar which was really yummy and some cookies that Alicia had made. We got to sit and visit for a while, which is my favorite thing to do. :) I sat there thinking how blessed I am to be surrounded by good women in my life... and how wonderfully blessed we all are to have good, good husbands. Talked about motherhood and babies... how with your first baby, you're in such shock after it's born, so by the second baby that initial shock is at least not as bad. And how your first baby you really have no idea what to do. Rollie asked if it gets easier (her first and only daughter, Autumn, turns one in a few weeks). She is awesome... she and Jonathan waited for 10+ years to get pregnant and finally did through IVF. So she's in her early 30s. Jonathan went out of town a few weekends ago, so she took Autumn camping by herself and set up camp really cute and everything. What a cool mom.
So, that was my baby shower for Jared.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Sick Day & A Visit from Dad Betzold
Wednesday I didn't feel good all day. I think Lila probably had a rough night the night before, and I was grumpy from not enough sleep. I just couldn't get going. So we stayed home and took it easy. Jake did come home for lunch, which was nice. A somewhat rare treat. He had gone into work an hour early, thinking that they were leaving for Grand Rapids... he hadn't read the email from the night before saying the trip was canceled. Lila spent the morning playing outside in the sunshine; going for a walk and swinging in the Caldwell's backyard and drawing with sidewalk chalk. I needed to go grocery shopping, but I just didn't have it in me to go and to entertain Lila the whole time (I usually need to bribe her with snacks to stay in the cart and be a good girl). I just felt so guilty though that I couldn't go. But Jake was awesome and said he'd take Lila for the evening and I could go by myself. He had some errands to run too, so they did that and I went to the store. It was rough. I was so sore by the end, I was waddling for sure.
We got home, got Lila ready for bed, and she was pretty stubborn, and then all of a sudden I got a horrible stomach ache. I'm not sure what happened, if I ate something bad during the day or if it was pregnancy related. But my stomach felt so tight, like one very long contraction, and I felt dizzy and lightheaded and smells were disgusting me and my mouth went dry. Felt what I imagine morning sickness feels like. So I laid down for a while while Jake put Lila to bed, and I eventually threw up a little bit and felt much better after that. It was a long night though. Jake did work from home Thursday morning so that I could sleep in till 9:30 and that was a HUGE HELP. JAKE IS AMAZING.
Emily came over while Lila was napping. She was also helpful and took Lila for a long walk. At 2:30 Mike informed me that Dad was going to come visit us for a few hours that evening. He (Dad) got off of work early, and since he's living in his truck (he sleeps in the back of the truck, doesn't want to "waste" his per diam on a hotel room!) and didn't have anything else to do, he drove over. It was a really nice visit. We haven't seen him (or Mom) since the 4th of July. He updated us on what's going on with Dan (Dan's back to doing drugs, stressed out from school/money problems, etc, but they're trying to help him the best they can), gave him a tour of our house, and of course played with Lila. He likes the paint colors we have in our kitchen and living room. It was funny, he said that if I would've told him we were painting a light blue and a gray he would've thought it would look terrible, but he really likes it... says he just likes white because he can visualize white... he can't visualize other colors, etc. I told him that's why there are women in the world. Mike came over too. Yes, he and Cassandra are engaged and are both very happy! I think being engaged and officially committed to each other will smooth over a lot of the little things they've been letting get in the way. They've started the paperwork to apply for a sealing clearance/cancellation. They're hoping for a December wedding in Nauvoo.
Lila took a second nap before dinner, which she needed, but she didn't get back to bed till 11. Jake and I were tired by the time we got to bed! I love that guy. He loves me a lot too. The past few days he's been telling me how much he loves me and how great of a wife and mom he thinks I am and how happy he is with me. He loves (and I do too) that our marriage causes him (and me) almost zero stress. Life is so stressful as it is, especially with kids, that not having additional stress and pressure from our marriage is an incredible blessing. We love each other a lot and really make each other happy.
Lila woke up screaming/crying at 5:00 this morning and didn't get back to sleep for quite some time. It's like a tantrum type thing where she's crying and crying and can't stop and can't tell us what she wants and she doesn't want anything but she wants everything at the same time. So that was fun. She slept till 9 and then Becca Burkhead came over to visit for a while. She and Joe just found out they're having a boy too, which is fun. So we visited about pregnancy and baby stuff and I told her things I wish people would've told me before I had a baby... how hormonal the first ~6 weeks are, how crazy nursing hunger is, etc. She has been thinking about taking a class that semester, and now she realizes how pretty crazy that would be! She's due mid-February. She can take the class Summer I and be done with it in like 6 weeks... so she'll probably do that instead. I'm happy for her and Joe. We went for a short walk with Lila, then she left to go to Institute.
Lila played all morning and afternoon pretty well, but when nap time came along, she freaked out again. I tried putting her down at 1:30 (which is later than usual), but she wasn't tired yet, so we played some more, and by 2:15 she was having a crying/screaming fit again and it took her another half hour to calm down and fall asleep. Oh boy. Don't know what's going on with her... hope she's feeling okay. So glad it's Friday.
We got home, got Lila ready for bed, and she was pretty stubborn, and then all of a sudden I got a horrible stomach ache. I'm not sure what happened, if I ate something bad during the day or if it was pregnancy related. But my stomach felt so tight, like one very long contraction, and I felt dizzy and lightheaded and smells were disgusting me and my mouth went dry. Felt what I imagine morning sickness feels like. So I laid down for a while while Jake put Lila to bed, and I eventually threw up a little bit and felt much better after that. It was a long night though. Jake did work from home Thursday morning so that I could sleep in till 9:30 and that was a HUGE HELP. JAKE IS AMAZING.
Emily came over while Lila was napping. She was also helpful and took Lila for a long walk. At 2:30 Mike informed me that Dad was going to come visit us for a few hours that evening. He (Dad) got off of work early, and since he's living in his truck (he sleeps in the back of the truck, doesn't want to "waste" his per diam on a hotel room!) and didn't have anything else to do, he drove over. It was a really nice visit. We haven't seen him (or Mom) since the 4th of July. He updated us on what's going on with Dan (Dan's back to doing drugs, stressed out from school/money problems, etc, but they're trying to help him the best they can), gave him a tour of our house, and of course played with Lila. He likes the paint colors we have in our kitchen and living room. It was funny, he said that if I would've told him we were painting a light blue and a gray he would've thought it would look terrible, but he really likes it... says he just likes white because he can visualize white... he can't visualize other colors, etc. I told him that's why there are women in the world. Mike came over too. Yes, he and Cassandra are engaged and are both very happy! I think being engaged and officially committed to each other will smooth over a lot of the little things they've been letting get in the way. They've started the paperwork to apply for a sealing clearance/cancellation. They're hoping for a December wedding in Nauvoo.
Lila took a second nap before dinner, which she needed, but she didn't get back to bed till 11. Jake and I were tired by the time we got to bed! I love that guy. He loves me a lot too. The past few days he's been telling me how much he loves me and how great of a wife and mom he thinks I am and how happy he is with me. He loves (and I do too) that our marriage causes him (and me) almost zero stress. Life is so stressful as it is, especially with kids, that not having additional stress and pressure from our marriage is an incredible blessing. We love each other a lot and really make each other happy.
Lila woke up screaming/crying at 5:00 this morning and didn't get back to sleep for quite some time. It's like a tantrum type thing where she's crying and crying and can't stop and can't tell us what she wants and she doesn't want anything but she wants everything at the same time. So that was fun. She slept till 9 and then Becca Burkhead came over to visit for a while. She and Joe just found out they're having a boy too, which is fun. So we visited about pregnancy and baby stuff and I told her things I wish people would've told me before I had a baby... how hormonal the first ~6 weeks are, how crazy nursing hunger is, etc. She has been thinking about taking a class that semester, and now she realizes how pretty crazy that would be! She's due mid-February. She can take the class Summer I and be done with it in like 6 weeks... so she'll probably do that instead. I'm happy for her and Joe. We went for a short walk with Lila, then she left to go to Institute.
Lila played all morning and afternoon pretty well, but when nap time came along, she freaked out again. I tried putting her down at 1:30 (which is later than usual), but she wasn't tired yet, so we played some more, and by 2:15 she was having a crying/screaming fit again and it took her another half hour to calm down and fall asleep. Oh boy. Don't know what's going on with her... hope she's feeling okay. So glad it's Friday.
Monday & Tuesday: Playdates & Real Dates
On Monday afternoon we headed to Alicia's to play with Briggy and Kiki (what she calls Quay). The kids had a good time and we had a good visit. You can tell that Brig is a boy and Lila is a girl, though. He tries to rough-house with her a little bit and she doesn't like it at all. She got beat up a little bit, but I think it's good for her. Alicia's great. I really like her. She told me more about GD and also about Sam's Club. I'm thinking about getting a membership there. Now that Lila's eating/snacking all the time, I think it'd be worth it. Especially with another baby coming along.
We went for a walk after dinner with Daddy and took Toby/Brody. Terie was appreciative because she had to write a paper for her master's program. She's going to watch Lila the night we have our Halloween Party, which is great. We're grateful to have them as neighbors.
On Tuesday, I had a Primary meeting in the morning. We met as a new presidency and cleaned the toys in the Nursery. Lila had a lot of fun splashing in the water with Tessa Fowler. Tessa was SOAKED; Lila played gently with the water. She's a very careful/cautious girl. Lila took a good nap and then we went for a walk with Kate and George. I like her a lot too. We talked a lot about breastfeeding and being stay-at-home-moms. The usual. She's VERY passionate about both of those things. It's interesting. I take having a supportive husband for granted, and having a network of awesome women/mothers at church. Frank doesn't quite see the full value in her staying at home with their kids, and her family isn't as excited about it either. So she really has to fight for it.
I have been so grateful lately that I can be a stay-at-home-mom. I just cannot imagine leaving Lila with someone else. Jake and I were talking about it on our date last night (we dropped Lila off at Holly's and went to the Crow's Nest for dinner--so good!). He said that he cannot imagine teaching Lila everything she needs to know in the few short hours he has with her every day, and if I was working out of the home too, I feel like our influence in her life would be so small. It breaks my heart just to think about it. As crazy as it is sometimes being a mom, I love it so much. I love being here for my daughter every day and I love investing all that I have in her. It's the greatest gift I could give her and it's the greatest blessing I could ever have in my whole life. I know it's what I'm supposed to be doing.
So, our date night was amazing! We're so glad that Alicia came up with this babysitting swap idea. I think especially once we have 2 kids (and 3, and 4), a regular date night will be what saves me from going crazy! We dropped Lila off at 6:30 and drove down Westnedge, not sure where we were going to eat. I suggested The Crow's Nest, and we both really loved it. I've been there several times, but Jake never has, and he says it's our new "place." It was just nice to sit and talk for an hour without any interruptions. He talked about work, we talked about family and Lila. Something he's been trying to do better at lately is talk to his mom more. He doesn't really talk to his mom a whole lot, maybe once a month if even. So he's been trying to call her more this week. Dad is now working in Illinois, so they only get to see each other on the weekends. Jake and I wonder why his mom doesn't move down to be with him. She's working at the high school up there, but she has a nursing degree and could get a job anywhere. It's just a lot different than how we would do things. Dan is living with them in Ironwood... but he's having a lot of problems, so maybe she wants to be there for him. We're just kind of bummed that she doesn't spend more time visiting us and her grandkids... Jake and I want to be involved (to a healthy degree) in our grandkids' lives and our adult children's lives too. Anyway, it was just so fun and good to be out together. After an hour of dinner we decided to just head back to pick Lila up, but stopped to make out for a few minutes in the KUB parking lot, lol. It's funny to think that we used to make out for hours when we were dating, but now it's just a few minutes and we're good and done. Visited at Holly's with her and Dan for a little while before leaving. Lila did great, no crying, had a blast playing with her friends. :) I was happy to hear that.
We went for a walk after dinner with Daddy and took Toby/Brody. Terie was appreciative because she had to write a paper for her master's program. She's going to watch Lila the night we have our Halloween Party, which is great. We're grateful to have them as neighbors.
On Tuesday, I had a Primary meeting in the morning. We met as a new presidency and cleaned the toys in the Nursery. Lila had a lot of fun splashing in the water with Tessa Fowler. Tessa was SOAKED; Lila played gently with the water. She's a very careful/cautious girl. Lila took a good nap and then we went for a walk with Kate and George. I like her a lot too. We talked a lot about breastfeeding and being stay-at-home-moms. The usual. She's VERY passionate about both of those things. It's interesting. I take having a supportive husband for granted, and having a network of awesome women/mothers at church. Frank doesn't quite see the full value in her staying at home with their kids, and her family isn't as excited about it either. So she really has to fight for it.
I have been so grateful lately that I can be a stay-at-home-mom. I just cannot imagine leaving Lila with someone else. Jake and I were talking about it on our date last night (we dropped Lila off at Holly's and went to the Crow's Nest for dinner--so good!). He said that he cannot imagine teaching Lila everything she needs to know in the few short hours he has with her every day, and if I was working out of the home too, I feel like our influence in her life would be so small. It breaks my heart just to think about it. As crazy as it is sometimes being a mom, I love it so much. I love being here for my daughter every day and I love investing all that I have in her. It's the greatest gift I could give her and it's the greatest blessing I could ever have in my whole life. I know it's what I'm supposed to be doing.
So, our date night was amazing! We're so glad that Alicia came up with this babysitting swap idea. I think especially once we have 2 kids (and 3, and 4), a regular date night will be what saves me from going crazy! We dropped Lila off at 6:30 and drove down Westnedge, not sure where we were going to eat. I suggested The Crow's Nest, and we both really loved it. I've been there several times, but Jake never has, and he says it's our new "place." It was just nice to sit and talk for an hour without any interruptions. He talked about work, we talked about family and Lila. Something he's been trying to do better at lately is talk to his mom more. He doesn't really talk to his mom a whole lot, maybe once a month if even. So he's been trying to call her more this week. Dad is now working in Illinois, so they only get to see each other on the weekends. Jake and I wonder why his mom doesn't move down to be with him. She's working at the high school up there, but she has a nursing degree and could get a job anywhere. It's just a lot different than how we would do things. Dan is living with them in Ironwood... but he's having a lot of problems, so maybe she wants to be there for him. We're just kind of bummed that she doesn't spend more time visiting us and her grandkids... Jake and I want to be involved (to a healthy degree) in our grandkids' lives and our adult children's lives too. Anyway, it was just so fun and good to be out together. After an hour of dinner we decided to just head back to pick Lila up, but stopped to make out for a few minutes in the KUB parking lot, lol. It's funny to think that we used to make out for hours when we were dating, but now it's just a few minutes and we're good and done. Visited at Holly's with her and Dan for a little while before leaving. Lila did great, no crying, had a blast playing with her friends. :) I was happy to hear that.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Engaged!
Mike and Cassandra got engaged today! Even just two days ago he thought he might break up with her... but things are looking up and he's not over-analyzing everything, so engaged they are. We're very happy and excited for them.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Emily's Birthday Weekend
Well, we made it through another fishing trip weekend. And I didn't even cry about it. I am woman, hear me roar. The boys left early Friday morning. Lila and I kept busy during the day, with my midwife appointment and a playdate... finding out that I have Gestational Diabetes. Lila didn't really get a nap because she fell asleep on the way home and woke up when we got home. So we had quiet time in the afternoon. We went for a walk. Finally, after dinner, she had a meltdown, so she took a quick nap. Emily arrived. We went to the KUB. Lila went to bed easily and I watched an episode of Parenthood (good show!) before falling asleep after midnight.
It was an early morning for Lila and I. Early as in 8am, because Lila didn't go to bed till 10:30. We Skyped with my parents while we waited for Emily (the birthday girl) to wake up... which wasn't till 10. She's 22 now, the age I was when I had Lila, which is weird. We played outside with Brody and Toby and visited with Terie. Made a cake while Lila napped.
In the afternoon, we went for another nap and waited for Jake to get home. I was so excited to see him. I just missed him a lot. Aunt Gina and my cousin Natalie Johnson (actually, she's my cousin's daughter) came over for Emily's birthday. We visited for a bit and then Jake got home! Yay! We headed to Finley's for Emily's free birthday dinner. Jake didn't get to stay long enough for food because he had a stake meeting at 6:30. It was funny, he asked Lila what she did all weekend without him and she said, "Mommy... Nemmy... Gina." lol. After dinner, us girls headed to Aunt Gina's for cake/ice cream and presents.
I was so tired by the time we got Lila to bed (10:30 again) that we just fell into bed without getting to visit much. Lila was up crying from 4:30-5:30 so I rocked her to sleep like old times. Jake tried getting up with her but she kept crying "Hold-ie Mommy!" and as soon as I took her in my arms she started falling asleep.
Church was alright. We only stayed for sacrament meeting because both Jake and Lila were sicky-poohs. The Primary presidency was released. The new president is Laura Cammack, Judy Fowler is 1st counselor, and Marianne Loso is the 2nd counselor. I'm relieved for Holly--she's due in 4 weeks :)
Lila took a good nap and Jake and I were able to catch up, until he fell asleep and was completely out for a while. We read books with Lila when she got up. Then played outside with her and Toby/Brody and visited with Terie. Then took her on a walk. I was feeling very pregnant and Jake was tired, but he was a trooper. Came home, made dinner. Sent Emily home (love the girl, but she spent the past 3 days with us) and Mike/Cassandra came over for dinner. It looks like they're finally moving back in the direction of getting engaged, so that could happen sometime this month. I think Cassandra is a good woman and that they'd be happy together. They were here till almost 10, playing Euchre and laughing at how funny Lila is. Jake had Lila run and "touch the wall" (she says that now) and then run back to him over and over to help her expend some energy. She's a cute girl, that one.
Got her to bed and then Jake and I got in bed and talked for a while. He's a good man. Very committed to the Lord and to being obedient and faithful. We like each other a lot.
It was an early morning for Lila and I. Early as in 8am, because Lila didn't go to bed till 10:30. We Skyped with my parents while we waited for Emily (the birthday girl) to wake up... which wasn't till 10. She's 22 now, the age I was when I had Lila, which is weird. We played outside with Brody and Toby and visited with Terie. Made a cake while Lila napped.
In the afternoon, we went for another nap and waited for Jake to get home. I was so excited to see him. I just missed him a lot. Aunt Gina and my cousin Natalie Johnson (actually, she's my cousin's daughter) came over for Emily's birthday. We visited for a bit and then Jake got home! Yay! We headed to Finley's for Emily's free birthday dinner. Jake didn't get to stay long enough for food because he had a stake meeting at 6:30. It was funny, he asked Lila what she did all weekend without him and she said, "Mommy... Nemmy... Gina." lol. After dinner, us girls headed to Aunt Gina's for cake/ice cream and presents.
I was so tired by the time we got Lila to bed (10:30 again) that we just fell into bed without getting to visit much. Lila was up crying from 4:30-5:30 so I rocked her to sleep like old times. Jake tried getting up with her but she kept crying "Hold-ie Mommy!" and as soon as I took her in my arms she started falling asleep.
Church was alright. We only stayed for sacrament meeting because both Jake and Lila were sicky-poohs. The Primary presidency was released. The new president is Laura Cammack, Judy Fowler is 1st counselor, and Marianne Loso is the 2nd counselor. I'm relieved for Holly--she's due in 4 weeks :)
Lila took a good nap and Jake and I were able to catch up, until he fell asleep and was completely out for a while. We read books with Lila when she got up. Then played outside with her and Toby/Brody and visited with Terie. Then took her on a walk. I was feeling very pregnant and Jake was tired, but he was a trooper. Came home, made dinner. Sent Emily home (love the girl, but she spent the past 3 days with us) and Mike/Cassandra came over for dinner. It looks like they're finally moving back in the direction of getting engaged, so that could happen sometime this month. I think Cassandra is a good woman and that they'd be happy together. They were here till almost 10, playing Euchre and laughing at how funny Lila is. Jake had Lila run and "touch the wall" (she says that now) and then run back to him over and over to help her expend some energy. She's a cute girl, that one.
Got her to bed and then Jake and I got in bed and talked for a while. He's a good man. Very committed to the Lord and to being obedient and faithful. We like each other a lot.
What we did this week...
This week:
- Visited with Kate a few times. One day, we sat in the front yard and let the babies play. Another day we went to the park. Lila loves the swings and climbing on the stairs. She also likes the bouncy animals. Kate's funny. She had her ultrasound on Friday but wasn't going to find out what they're having.
- Becca and Joe Burkhead are having a boy! There will be 5 boys born in December-February from church. Mine, Christy's, Terra's, Becca's, and Jessica's.
- Friday morning after my midwife appointment, I took Lila to Amber Tracy's for a playdate. Amber is due in a week and also had a midwife appointment that morning where they stripped her membranes. Hunter is pretty hyper and loud, and Lila is mild and calm. Funny to see them play together.
- Lila didn't nap on Friday, really. She fell asleep in the car on the way home from Amber's but woke up when we got home. She actually did take a short nap after dinner. Then we went to the KUB for a little bit.
- Mike spent Thursday night over here. He and Jake left early Friday morning for their fishing trip. They were pretty excited to go, of course. I spent a lot of time Thursday talking to Mike on the phone... he was freaking out about little things again.
Friday, October 7, 2011
28w 1d - Gestational Diabetes
Tuesday morning, I went in for my glucose test. It was at 8:30 in the morning and I had fasted for 10 hours as directed. Jake happily stayed home with Lila and I wasn't looking forward to drinking the sugary syrup, but I was sure that I'd enjoy the few hours of alone time. The appointment was at the testing center at the hospital. I coincidentally saw my next-door neighbor Terie there. She works in the OR.
Anyway, the way it's supposed to work is that they take your fasting glucose level, and if it's in the normal range, they will have you drink the glucose drink and then test your blood again in an hour, and then two hours after you drank it. If your level is 95 or above, it's considered an elevated reading and you're considered to have gestational diabetes.
Well, I was sent home after the initial blood draw. My sugar level was at either 97 or 99, I can't remember which. The woman who drew my blood didn't tell me any of this information so I was kind of left hanging, but I found out today at my midwife appointment.
On Monday I'll be contacted by Maternal Fetal Medicine and I'll set up an appointment with a diabetes counselor. I'll have to check my glucose levels for the rest of the pregnancy, and I may be able to manage my sugars just by watching what I eat. If that doesn't work, I'll have to use insulin. I will have to limit my sugar and carb intake, which I think will be pretty difficult... as those are my favorite things and the only things I seem to be craving these days. :) Oh well. This is a chance to really focus on eating healthy.
My midwife (I met with Heather today) said that I may have been at least borderline diabetic when I was pregnant with Lila, because Lila was 8 1/2 lbs. She said that if I carefully monitor my levels, this could mean a smaller baby to push out. And a healthier baby.
She said that they definitely won't want me to go over my due date, and if my cervix looks favorable at the time, might induce me up to a week early. She said that they're more likely to do that, especially around the holidays. The past few months, I've thought about the possibility of being induced, and I've wanted to avoid it, just because I've heard awful stories. But, one of our doctor friends at church told us that if you've already had a healthy delivery, you're a great candidate for an induction. So, that's definitely something that could happen this time around. We might have our baby home in time for Christmas! And we'll definitely get a 2011 baby! Jake will be thrilled.
So, that's the latest. I'll find out more next week. As soon as my appointment ended, I called Jake (who's on the Betzold Boy Annual Fishing Trip right now) and cried to him about it. This isn't something I ever thought I'd have to deal with. I know it could be a lot worse, but it's just something else to worry about. I then called my mom, who helped me feel better about it. I also talked to Alicia Thompson. She had her baby girl in June, and had gestational diabetes with her, so she filled me in on what I can expect. She said that I'll get extra ultrasounds to check his size, that I'll need to go in twice a week for non-stress tests, that definitely makes it a more expensive pregnancy, and that we'll have to stay in the hospital a full 24 hours after he's born to monitor his blood sugar levels every time he eats (I'd like to come home as soon as possible). Fun, fun. Praying for a healthy pregnancy and baby and delivery.
PS - I weighed around 129 lbs.
Anyway, the way it's supposed to work is that they take your fasting glucose level, and if it's in the normal range, they will have you drink the glucose drink and then test your blood again in an hour, and then two hours after you drank it. If your level is 95 or above, it's considered an elevated reading and you're considered to have gestational diabetes.
Well, I was sent home after the initial blood draw. My sugar level was at either 97 or 99, I can't remember which. The woman who drew my blood didn't tell me any of this information so I was kind of left hanging, but I found out today at my midwife appointment.
On Monday I'll be contacted by Maternal Fetal Medicine and I'll set up an appointment with a diabetes counselor. I'll have to check my glucose levels for the rest of the pregnancy, and I may be able to manage my sugars just by watching what I eat. If that doesn't work, I'll have to use insulin. I will have to limit my sugar and carb intake, which I think will be pretty difficult... as those are my favorite things and the only things I seem to be craving these days. :) Oh well. This is a chance to really focus on eating healthy.
My midwife (I met with Heather today) said that I may have been at least borderline diabetic when I was pregnant with Lila, because Lila was 8 1/2 lbs. She said that if I carefully monitor my levels, this could mean a smaller baby to push out. And a healthier baby.
She said that they definitely won't want me to go over my due date, and if my cervix looks favorable at the time, might induce me up to a week early. She said that they're more likely to do that, especially around the holidays. The past few months, I've thought about the possibility of being induced, and I've wanted to avoid it, just because I've heard awful stories. But, one of our doctor friends at church told us that if you've already had a healthy delivery, you're a great candidate for an induction. So, that's definitely something that could happen this time around. We might have our baby home in time for Christmas! And we'll definitely get a 2011 baby! Jake will be thrilled.
So, that's the latest. I'll find out more next week. As soon as my appointment ended, I called Jake (who's on the Betzold Boy Annual Fishing Trip right now) and cried to him about it. This isn't something I ever thought I'd have to deal with. I know it could be a lot worse, but it's just something else to worry about. I then called my mom, who helped me feel better about it. I also talked to Alicia Thompson. She had her baby girl in June, and had gestational diabetes with her, so she filled me in on what I can expect. She said that I'll get extra ultrasounds to check his size, that I'll need to go in twice a week for non-stress tests, that definitely makes it a more expensive pregnancy, and that we'll have to stay in the hospital a full 24 hours after he's born to monitor his blood sugar levels every time he eats (I'd like to come home as soon as possible). Fun, fun. Praying for a healthy pregnancy and baby and delivery.
PS - I weighed around 129 lbs.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
General Conference Weekend
Sometime on Friday, Jake called to ask if I was interested in doing a gospel study group with the Randalls and Thompsons. He'd been talking to Jen and she expressed interest in something of the sort, because she and Sean weren't raised in the church (they joined the church after they were married, I think). Anyway... I don't know how/if it's going to happen, but the Thompsons came over regardless. The Randalls were going to come, but the ended up not. We had a nice visit with them and the kids liked playing.
We got up on Saturday morning early to go to a mom-to-mom sale. It was our first time going to one and it was awesome! I can't believe we haven't gone to one sooner. We spent like... $85 and bought a bunch of stuff: snow pants for Lila, snow boots, a little playset/slide for the basement, a bumbo chair, swimsuits for Lila and Jared, shoes for Jared, dress clothes for Jared, a toy for Lila. Probably some other things too. Jake mowed the lawn that afternoon, Lila played outside with Toby and Brody, and we enjoyed General Conference in the meantime and had beef stew for dinner. Jake painted the master bathroom for me--he's amazing.
During the Priesthood session, Emily and I took Lila to the KUB. Emily basically spent the whole weekend at our place. By Sunday we were pretty annoyed with her. Oh well. It was fun, the KUB. I spent the whole time visiting with Christy Szekely and Lindsey Reyes. Christy and I are due the same week with boys, and we hadn't seen each other since we were like 7 weeks along. Lindsey recently told me that she's around 9 weeks pregnant but it isn't public information yet. So we talked the whole time about pregnancy and babies. Christy used to really get under my skin... she bugs a lot of people, but she didn't bug me that night. She's had it pretty tough, I think. Sean works either 3pm-3am or 7pm-7am and also has classes during the day, and she's had bad morning sickness. And it will continue that way after she has the baby, and her family is in California. So, I feel for her.
It was so great not having to get up for 9:00 church on Sunday. :) Lila got up early, but we all went back to bed till like 11. I did not feel well all day... felt like I was coming down with a cold. And Jake wasn't being himself because he was getting annoyed with Emily, lol. So, I tried enjoying General Conference and Lila was pretty good at keeping herself entertained, for the most part. We did lots of coloring. She liked sitting in the rocking chair and in the bowl chair, but certainly did not want to share those chairs with us.
We made a chicken BBQ sandwiches for dinner. Jake had to leave for a business trip to Ohio at 7:00 so we said bye to Daddy (I hate doing that) and then sat by a campfire for a little bit with the Caldwells. And then we (Emily and I) went inside and I gave Lila her very first haircut! I've been wanting to do this for a few weeks, but a part of me didn't because she's my little baby. But it was way too long and stringy and wild, looked very bad. And with the humidity gone, it's not curling anymore. So, off came a few inches and now she looks ADORABLE! Really, really cute. It was a lot easier and quicker than I thought it would be. She asked for a piece of licorice ("shee-kish") and so I gave her one, she Skyped with Grandma and Grandpa and I was done in a few minutes. Love it. It was a fun moment for me, and I wish Jake was there to have seen it, but there will be lots more haircuts that he can join us for. My mom told us to save her hair clippings from her first haircut, because she did that for us. I thought it was weird, but as soon as I saw the little blonde hairs I just knew I had to. Someday she probably won't have blonde hair like this.
It was a long night. We slept okay without Daddy home, but I missed him and woke up a lot, actually. Monday we stayed home during the day and played. But for dinner I took Lila to Fazoli's where we had a mommy/daughter date. It was fun and Lila ate a ton, and I loved it. I love my daughter. She sat like a good girl the whole time. Then she pooped. So I thought that when we headed to Target, she'd be fine and wouldn't poop, but I was wrong. She pooped within the first 5 minutes of being there. :) I found a bunch of maternity stuff on Clearance and tried it on, and that took a long time, but I got a maternity swimsuit for $11 and a maternity sweater for $12. And then we wandered around the store till Lila got cranky. And then came home and played with the Caldwells until Daddy got home at 8:00. He was so happy to see Lila and they played till bedtime.
Yesterday we played in the morning and while Lila napped I got dinner prepared--I made adobo. Kate and baby George came over and we played in the front yard. And then Jake came home. And then Preston and Annette and baby Ruby came over for dinner. And the Tensmeyers dropped Ella off for us to babysit for her date night. It was a lot of fun! Preston and Annette are hilarious. Lila and Ella had a lot of fun playing together. They played together almost the whole time, except for when they wanted snacks. So Jake and I just got to sit and visit. It was GREAT. We have awesome friends.
Lila got to bed late and was up in the middle of the night because she peed out of her diaper... I didn't put it on well enough. And then she was feeling sick (Jake and I are both feeling sick) so Jake rocked her to sleep in the rocking chair. He said it was so sweet, just holding and cuddling with her. She doesn't like to do that very often.
So... life is good. Busy. Trying to get things done during the day when Lila's playing. Taking time to play with her, help her feel loved and cared for. This baby is coming in around 12 weeks. Can't believe it.
We got up on Saturday morning early to go to a mom-to-mom sale. It was our first time going to one and it was awesome! I can't believe we haven't gone to one sooner. We spent like... $85 and bought a bunch of stuff: snow pants for Lila, snow boots, a little playset/slide for the basement, a bumbo chair, swimsuits for Lila and Jared, shoes for Jared, dress clothes for Jared, a toy for Lila. Probably some other things too. Jake mowed the lawn that afternoon, Lila played outside with Toby and Brody, and we enjoyed General Conference in the meantime and had beef stew for dinner. Jake painted the master bathroom for me--he's amazing.
During the Priesthood session, Emily and I took Lila to the KUB. Emily basically spent the whole weekend at our place. By Sunday we were pretty annoyed with her. Oh well. It was fun, the KUB. I spent the whole time visiting with Christy Szekely and Lindsey Reyes. Christy and I are due the same week with boys, and we hadn't seen each other since we were like 7 weeks along. Lindsey recently told me that she's around 9 weeks pregnant but it isn't public information yet. So we talked the whole time about pregnancy and babies. Christy used to really get under my skin... she bugs a lot of people, but she didn't bug me that night. She's had it pretty tough, I think. Sean works either 3pm-3am or 7pm-7am and also has classes during the day, and she's had bad morning sickness. And it will continue that way after she has the baby, and her family is in California. So, I feel for her.
It was so great not having to get up for 9:00 church on Sunday. :) Lila got up early, but we all went back to bed till like 11. I did not feel well all day... felt like I was coming down with a cold. And Jake wasn't being himself because he was getting annoyed with Emily, lol. So, I tried enjoying General Conference and Lila was pretty good at keeping herself entertained, for the most part. We did lots of coloring. She liked sitting in the rocking chair and in the bowl chair, but certainly did not want to share those chairs with us.
We made a chicken BBQ sandwiches for dinner. Jake had to leave for a business trip to Ohio at 7:00 so we said bye to Daddy (I hate doing that) and then sat by a campfire for a little bit with the Caldwells. And then we (Emily and I) went inside and I gave Lila her very first haircut! I've been wanting to do this for a few weeks, but a part of me didn't because she's my little baby. But it was way too long and stringy and wild, looked very bad. And with the humidity gone, it's not curling anymore. So, off came a few inches and now she looks ADORABLE! Really, really cute. It was a lot easier and quicker than I thought it would be. She asked for a piece of licorice ("shee-kish") and so I gave her one, she Skyped with Grandma and Grandpa and I was done in a few minutes. Love it. It was a fun moment for me, and I wish Jake was there to have seen it, but there will be lots more haircuts that he can join us for. My mom told us to save her hair clippings from her first haircut, because she did that for us. I thought it was weird, but as soon as I saw the little blonde hairs I just knew I had to. Someday she probably won't have blonde hair like this.
It was a long night. We slept okay without Daddy home, but I missed him and woke up a lot, actually. Monday we stayed home during the day and played. But for dinner I took Lila to Fazoli's where we had a mommy/daughter date. It was fun and Lila ate a ton, and I loved it. I love my daughter. She sat like a good girl the whole time. Then she pooped. So I thought that when we headed to Target, she'd be fine and wouldn't poop, but I was wrong. She pooped within the first 5 minutes of being there. :) I found a bunch of maternity stuff on Clearance and tried it on, and that took a long time, but I got a maternity swimsuit for $11 and a maternity sweater for $12. And then we wandered around the store till Lila got cranky. And then came home and played with the Caldwells until Daddy got home at 8:00. He was so happy to see Lila and they played till bedtime.
Yesterday we played in the morning and while Lila napped I got dinner prepared--I made adobo. Kate and baby George came over and we played in the front yard. And then Jake came home. And then Preston and Annette and baby Ruby came over for dinner. And the Tensmeyers dropped Ella off for us to babysit for her date night. It was a lot of fun! Preston and Annette are hilarious. Lila and Ella had a lot of fun playing together. They played together almost the whole time, except for when they wanted snacks. So Jake and I just got to sit and visit. It was GREAT. We have awesome friends.
Lila got to bed late and was up in the middle of the night because she peed out of her diaper... I didn't put it on well enough. And then she was feeling sick (Jake and I are both feeling sick) so Jake rocked her to sleep in the rocking chair. He said it was so sweet, just holding and cuddling with her. She doesn't like to do that very often.
So... life is good. Busy. Trying to get things done during the day when Lila's playing. Taking time to play with her, help her feel loved and cared for. This baby is coming in around 12 weeks. Can't believe it.
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